


Lonely Days are Done

by starlitcatastrophe (inky_starlight)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Luke and Din are both asexual, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, cause dangit I just need two aces in in love, there's some language in this but not enough to rate it T, this is mostly just fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:27:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29710932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inky_starlight/pseuds/starlitcatastrophe
Summary: When the cloaked figure who just destroyed all the Dark Troopers takes his hood off, Din is thrown into shock because he knows the man. Luke Skywalker, his husband.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker
Comments: 26
Kudos: 238





	Lonely Days are Done

**Author's Note:**

> Hi y'all! I hope y'all like this one! I got the idea from a post on Tumblr from nellapaulina, and it was nice to do just a cute fluffy thing. This isn't beta'd and I make mistakes so if you see anything that looks weird, please let me know! 
> 
> Flashbacks are in italics, just so it's easier to tell what's what ^^

Din had reached the point of being so stressed he was almost calm, almost numb to it. He’d watched the cloaked figure getting closer and closer to them on the monitors, taking out Dark Troopers almost as easy as the steps they took through the ship. This had to be a Jedi, they  _ had to be _ , but even if they weren’t… there was nothing any of them would be able to do to stop this person, no matter their intentions. But Grogu was calm, staring at the monitors in a kind of silent awe. Surely the kid wouldn’t be so calm if this person was someone to worry about. 

His anxiety whispered that the kid wasn’t all knowing, he could be wrong, but Din tried to silence that voice as much as possible. 

The cloaked figure was calm. They didn’t force their way through the blast doors, even though they probably could, if their power earlier was any indication. The doors were heavily dented from the Dark Troopers, which had been taken out with what seemed like no effort… this person could probably  _ breathe  _ and get past the doors if they wanted. 

Din picked Grogu up and carried him away from the monitors, closer to the door controls.

“Open the doors,” Din wasn’t quite aware of the words leaving his lips.

“Are you crazy?” Fennec was tense. Din couldn’t blame her, couldn’t blame any of them. No one was moving. And maybe he was.

But the blaster doors would only be an insult to someone they clearly couldn’t afford to offend. 

Wordlessly, Din set Grogu down in the empty chair in front of the control panel, and pushed the button himself. The doors scraped along the durasteel floor as they opened, the Dark Troopers had knocked at least part of the doors off their track. The noise they made was somewhere between a high whine and a scream, but they opened as far as they were able, with the dents. 

The cloaked figure walked through, guarded, and at first still had their lightsaber raised, but after a quick look around the room they powered the saber down, and Din felt some small amount of the anxiety in his stomach fade. Maybe, just maybe, he was right. Then they took the hood off their head and Din felt his world shift. He knew the man who had just breezed through the ship like it was nothing. His blonde hair had gotten darker since Din had last seen him in person, and he carried himself differently, but this was unmistakably- 

“Luke?!” His voice was more of a squeak than he wanted it to be but honestly  _ who the hell cared _ ? 

Luke’s eyes went wide as he heard Din’s voice and he practically snapped his head in Din’s direction. “Din?!” 

Luke’s voice was almost a squeak too. So they were both surprised.

They stepped towards each other at the same time, gripping onto each other’s arms as they got close enough to reach. Luke looked up at Din’s face, meeting his eyes perfectly through the visor as he always had. For a moment Din let himself just look. Take in the sight of Luke’s face, for once not tinted the blue that the holocams always made him look, and bask in being able to hold him. Gently Luke raised himself up on his toes and Din tilted his head down for the two of them to press their foreheads together. They stayed there for one moment, two, just  _ feeling _ each other in their arms, before Luke settled back down on his feet.

“Your armor…” Luke finally said, looking at the new Beskar, they hadn’t met in person since Din had received it, but before he could continue, cut himself off, meeting Din’s eyes through the visor. “Din, what are you doing here? Where have you-”

“What are  _ you _ doing here?” Din was still so confused, but he wasn’t alone, judging by Luke’s face. “I thought Grogu contacted a jedi…”

“Din, I  _ am _ a jedi.”

“You didn’t tell me that!”

“I told you I was learning to use the Force!”

“That’s not the same thing!” Din at least knew that much. 

Luke sighed, pouting just a little, and dank farrick but his pout was still unfair. “You’re right. I guess I was trying to tell you without saying it outright. But what was I supposed to say?! ‘Oh hey, by the way, I found out I actually come from a long lineage of your people’s sworn enemies and I’m training to be one, how’s this bounty coming along?’”

Din sighed, but then couldn’t help but let out a short laugh, which made Luke smile, and gently pressed his forehead against Luke’s once more. The two of them never learned.

They both looked up and toward everyone else in the room when Cara’s voice cut through the air:

“Din, are you gonna tell us what’s going on? How do you know  _ Luke Skywalker? _ ” 

Oh right, Luke was big in the rebellion… 

“He’s… he’s my husband.” 

The quiet mood broke immediately. Cara looked shocked for half a second before she and Fennec both began to laugh. Huge laughs that shook their whole bodies so much they had to reach out to the consoles near them for support and Din wasn’t completely sure if they were laughing at him or not, but decided it didn’t matter. Bo Katan let out a long, quiet, noise somewhere between a shriek and a sound loth-cat’s made, but Din wasn’t completely sure she knew the noise was actually coming out of her mouth. Koska just looked like someone had slapped her. 

“Only you, Din…” Cara had tears coming out of her eyes, and was still laughing as she wiped them away. Fennec was already beginning to get ready to head out, re-cuffing an unconscious Moff Gideon. 

“Where’s Grogu?” Luke asked suddenly, looking around the room. “I want to meet him!” 

Just then, Luke’s cloak moved and both Luke and Din looked down to see that Grogu had crawled off the chair and was now tugging on Luke’s cloak. 

“Did you get impatient?” Din asked him as the kid reached both arms up towards Luke. 

Luke immediately bent down to pick him up, and Din felt the anxiety melt out of him as he took in the sight of his husband holding his son. His husband was the jedi he’d been looking for… Grogu was staying with him, with both of them. He didn’t have to give Grogu up like he’d been dreading ever since the Armorer had tasked him with bringing the kid to a jedi. Din’s task was  _ done  _ and Luke was  _ here  _ and Din was trying not to cry from relief as Luke and Grogu stared at each other, clearly communicating in the same way that Grogu had with Ahsoka.

Din felt a tap on his pauldron and turned around to find Cara behind him. She wasn’t laughing anymore but her eyes were still shining with it. 

“We need to figure out a plan.” 

“We do,” Din nodded. Moff Gideon was still unconscious on the floor, but cuffed and restrained well enough that even if he woke up he’d have a hard time doing anything to escape. 

“I can call in a New Republic transport easily enough, especially once I tell them who our new prisoner is, but you guys…” Cara looked at Fennec. 

“I’ll get ahold of Fett,” she nodded. “We’ll figure it out from there.” 

“Fett?!” Luke almost yelped from behind Din. “Boba Fett?”

“Yeah,” Din turned back to Luke, “he was there when Grogu was taken. Said he’d help me get him back.” 

Luke nodded, and was trying to appear calm, but Din could tell he was alarmed about something. 

“Luke, what happened?”

“Well, he was there when I broke into Jabba’s palace-”

“You WHAT?!” Din interrupted him. 

“Tell you later,” Luke said quickly, in a way that told Din it would be ‘never’ unless Din forced it out of him. “But anyway I don’t think he’d be very happy to see me right now…” 

“Got it,” Cara nodded. “So if you leave first, then-” 

The six of them stopped when they heard a shuffling noise in the hall, whirling around to face the open blast doors. Din tensed up for just a moment but relaxed as soon as he heard a familiar string of binary. 

“Artoo,” Luke sighed as the astromech wheeled into the room, and everyone relaxed right along with him. “Warn me next time.” 

Artoo warbled out a string of binary that Din didn’t understand but could imagine it translated roughly to something like ‘not my fault you fucking run off into enemy territory, damn Skywalker drama gene, slow the fuck down will you’ and came to a stop next to Luke. Only then did he seem to notice Din, and let out a loud shriek of surprise. 

“Yes,” Din sighed. “Me.” Where his husband was, the foul-mouthed droid would follow. 

The group of them made quick plans, most of it depending on Fett, and Luke told him to comm and either he’d come pick him up or send coordinates, before passing Grogu back to Din. 

“I’ll see you soon, Grogu,” Luke told him, and pressed a kiss onto the kid’s forehead. Grogu cooed at him and Luke’s smile was completely unfair and Din had missed it. Luke looked up at Din before he kissed the side of Din’s buy’ce. 

“Stay safe,” Din told him, trying to pretend like he wasn’t blushing down to his toes under his beskar. 

“May the Force be with you,” Luke returned, still smiling, before turning away and heading down the hall with Artoo back towards his x-wing. 

…

_ Din knew he was dying. It was a sort of detached thing, no real feeling. An observation. This was sooner than he thought but he knew when he became a bounty hunter that his life expectancy had been cut drastically. He was more annoyed that his own slip up had caused this than he was scared or whatever he thought he should be feeling about the prospect of dying. The bounty hadn’t been alone and their friend had been armed to the teeth… Din hadn’t been careful.  _

_ And now he was bleeding out in the sand.  _

_ His world, his awareness, narrowed as time went by. Earlier he’d felt the heat of the Tatooine suns, the bite of sand on the wind, noticed the sound as the sand scraped against his beskar’gam. He’d felt the pain of his torn skin, a kind of alarm as his heart continued to pump blood out of his body. But he was getting weaker. The air didn’t feel hot, just vaguely warm, he couldn’t feel the sand on his bared skin anymore, was only slightly aware of the sound it made. He was fading, not too fast, but fading. He had the urge to close his eyes.  _

_ But then he noticed something else. The rumble of an old speeder, already pretty close, the sound of it abruptly powering down.  _

“ _ Oh shit…” The voice was higher than his, younger. There was the sound of feet hitting sand and running footsteps.  _

_ “Mandalorian!” The same voice called out. Din felt like he should make a noise but also felt like he couldn’t. The footsteps got closer, a shadow fell over him, and suddenly Din was blearily focusing on a face in his field of vision.  _

_ A boy, an older boy but a boy still, eyes wide and bright with concern, golden, loose, hair forming a curtain around his face as he looked at Din and tried to see what was wrong.  _

_ “You’re gonna be okay… you’re gonna be okay.” There was a child’s determination in that voice, that the boy wasn’t completely sure Din would be okay but he was going to  _ make  _ Din be okay. “Focus on my face…”  _

_ He moved Din as carefully as he could, following the path of torn skin up his neck and underneath his buy’ce.  _

_ “I need to take your helmet off. Can I-” _

_ “No. _ ”  _ Din’s voice was weak but the boy had definitely heard him. “Can’t.” _

_ “But you’re gonna die!”  _

_ “Won’t break my Creed,” Din managed to get out.  _

_ The boy was clearly thinking about something, probably remembering something he’d heard before, either from another Mandalorian or stories. With Tatooine, it could be either. “Your Creed… can you show your face to your clan?” _

_ “Yes, but-” _

_ “Okay, then make me a part of your clan! I’m not gonna let you die!”  _

_ Din would have laughed if he had the energy. This boy was determined. “No, you’re too young.” _

_ “Bet I’m not,” the boy said stubbornly. “What do I need to do?” _

_ He was, he really was. Din was tempted to just not tell him, but from the look in the kid’s eyes Din could tell he’d have to at least give an answer. “You’re too young. We’d have to get married,” Din’s voice was little more than a sigh.  _

_ He’d expected the boy to be alarmed, to change his tactic to making Din as comfortable as possible before he died, something… but he wasn’t expecting the boy’s face to brighten.  _

_ “I can get married! I’m nineteen!”  _

_ Oh  _ Manda,  _ that did not make Din feel better in the slightest. “That’s too young.” _

_ “It’s not! Besides, this is Tatooine.” Din didn’t quite know what the boy meant by that. When Din didn’t speak again, the boy continued. “I’m old enough to make my own decisions, and I’m not letting you die!” _

_ The boy wore him down. Luke, as he said his name was, wore him down. Din didn’t want to force Luke into anything, but Luke was bright and eager and determined and Din was fading and before he really knew it he was saying the marriage vows and Luke was repeating them in clumsy Mando’a.  _

_ Din blacked out as soon as his new husband got his buy’ce off his head.  _

_ When Din woke up again, and after he remembered what all had happened he was surprised that he was waking up again, he was no longer out in the elements. He was in an unfamiliar house, in a room by himself. Everything looked worn, old, but meticulously cared for. The blanket he was covered by had been patched several times, the sheets on the bed he was lying in were nearly threadbare but clean. Messy like a child’s room but everything seemed to have its place, from the half finished model ship to the old slugthrower in the corner. He could see just enough light coming in through the small window near the top of the wall to know that it was daylight. Din’s beskar’gam and flight suit were laid carefully over a chair and table that had clearly seen repairs before, and both metal and fabric had been cleaned.  _

_ And Din was alive. It seemed impossible. He was no longer bleeding and there was an almost sickeningly sweet smell of bacta in the air. When Din moved his head he realized the smell was coming from a homemade bacta patch that Luke had put over his head wound.  _

_ He heard footsteps and then a voice, Luke’s, through the door.  _

_ “I’ll be right there after I check on Din.” _

_ The door opened just a crack, Luke sliding into the room while making sure that no one in the rest of the house would see Din’s face. Din couldn’t help but be touched by it; Luke didn’t know much more than basic specifics of Din’s Creed but he was making sure the Creed was respected. That Din was respected. Luke was carrying a small basket, and he’d just set it down on the bed when he realized Din’s eyes were open. He looked up quickly, and then his face broke out into an absolutely brilliant smile.  _

_ “Din, you’re awake!” _

_ Luke was at his side so fast it seemed like Din practically blinked and there he was. _

_ “What happened?” Din’s voice was raspy and Luke poured him a small cup of water from a jug he pulled out of the basket as he answered.  _

_ “I brought you to my home; I live with my aunt and uncle. They haven’t seen your face, I explained everything already.” _

_ “Everything?” Like the fact that their nineteen year old nephew had gotten married? _

_ Luke nodded. “Uncle Owen grumbled a bit, but then said he wasn’t surprised. I’m not sure why. I think they’re okay with it.” _

_ Din wasn’t completely sure that  _ he  _ was okay with it. Luke was nineteen and this room, his room, was still every bit a child’s room. An eight year age difference wasn’t completely criminal but it was still enough that Din felt a wave of guilt.  _

_ Luke read his expression easily: “I wouldn’t have done this if I didn’t want it. We don’t need to talk about it until you’re completely recovered, but this was my own choice, Din.”  _

_ “You’re nineteen.” _

_ “This is Tatooine, half my friends are married already.” _

_ That didn’t make it better, but Luke was determined, and Din couldn’t do much more than stare at his face as his new husband changed the bacta patch on his forehead.  _

_ “It’s not as strong as the official stuff, but it gets the job done,” Luke told him, referring to the apparently bootlegged bacta. “It just might take a little longer. Do you have anyone you need to send a comm to?”  _

_ Din shook his head.  _

_ “Okay,” Luke’s smile was gentle and Din felt his heart warming in spite of himself. “So we’ll take it day by day.”  _

_ … _

Din explained the whole story to Boba after the other Mandalorian returned for them: the Darksaber, his marriage, everything. Boba found it, in Din’s opinion, entirely too funny. Din knew the man would, but the laughing was mildly insulting. 

“Din Djarin, who only wants to be left alone, winning the Darksaber on accident and married into Skywalker family drama.” 

“I don’t only want to be…” 

“Oh please, I had you clocked the moment I met you.”

Din could only sigh. Dank farrick, he needed new friends. 

Bo-Katan and Koska were far quieter than he expected them to be, only asking for the Imperial cruiser like it was anything Din would have even wanted to begin with. Even though Bo-Katan kept her buy’ce off, Din still couldn’t read her expression. Then again, he didn’t know her that well, but still. It was a different look than she usually gave him, not colder, but almost analyzing. 

Like her perception of him had changed, and she was trying to figure out how he now fit into her plan. 

He didn’t like it. But he didn’t say anything. It was a conversation that he didn’t want to have, and didn’t know how to start even if he did. If it was something she wanted to get out in the open before they split ways, she could start the conversation.

Grogu gurgled and Din looked down at the kid in his arms, feeling warm with relief. Grogu had the mythosaur pendant in his mouth again, and Din shifted his hold on him so that the kid could reach up and touch the side of his buy’ce. Grogu was content, Din was content, and they didn’t have to separate. Din hadn’t felt relief like this in a long time. 

Boba thumped Din’s pauldron lightly enough that he wouldn’t jostle Grogu, and when Din looked up at him, motioned for Din to follow him. 

Bo-Katan still didn’t say anything, but Din knew he hadn’t heard the last of it from her. She and Koska stayed where they were in the command center as Din, Boba, and Fennec made their way back to Boba’s ship. 

Boba was quiet until they were aboard the  _ Slave-1 _ and starting to take off. 

“Can’t stand that woman,” he grumbled. 

“Do you think she’ll be a danger to the kid?” Din asked. ‘Or to Luke?’ he thought privately. He didn’t know much (anything) about the current clan politics or Bo-Katan’s plan to retake Mandalore, but he knew she and her allies weren’t enemies he could afford to make.

“Probably not but that doesn’t mean she won’t be a pain in the ass.” Boba shook his head. “Is the kid okay?”

Din nodded. “He’s not injured, and once Luke got there he wasn’t scared, but I don’t…”

“Don’t know what else happened to him.” Boba nodded. “So, where am I taking you?” 

“Just drop us off wherever you’re heading, Luke and I can figure it out from there.”

“Or I can just take you there.” Even through the vocoder Din could practically hear Boba rolling his eyes. 

It surprised him. With how nervous Luke seemed to be about Boba being involved, Din wouldn’t have imagined Boba would offer. Boba didn’t seem like he hated Luke, but Din didn’t know what had happened between them, and other than Luke being nervous about the idea of seeing Boba again, he didn’t have anything to go on to figure it out.

“Luke seemed to think you wouldn’t be happy to see him again.” 

Boba let out a short laugh that was more amused than anything. “Yeah, I can see why.” 

Din was worried he’d have to somehow drag the story out of Boba, and he wasn’t sure which would be more difficult: Boba, or a Luke who absolutely did not want to tell him. Luckily Boba shared without prompting.

“I picked up a bounty from Jabba the Hutt for one of Skywalker’s friends. Got the friend, Han Solo, in carbonite and got him back to Jabba. Of course, Skywalker and company came to try and get him back. Things went a little sideways for them, I took Jabba’s side ‘cause doing anything in Hutt Space is a pain in the ass if the Hutt’s don’t like you. Han Solo got lucky, I got unlucky, and ended up in the sarlaac pit.”

Din got the impression that Boba didn’t want to elaborate on the sarlaac pit and kept his mouth shut. 

Boba gave a soft grunt that was barely picked up by his vocoder. “I can’t blame him too much. It’s not even really him personally who I have a problem with. Solo, on the other hand…” 

Din nodded. 

Boba shook himself out of whatever mental path he’d headed down: “comm your husband, tell me where I’m going.” 

Din turned to the  _ Slave-1 _ ’s comm controls, finger’s automatically typing in Luke’s comm frequency. After only a moment, Luke answered with a quick

“Skywalker.” 

“Luke, it’s me.” Din spoke up just before the holocam engaged. Once it did he could tell Luke was still in his x-wing. 

“Din! That was fast-” 

Grogu interrupted with a happy shriek, popping up into the viewing range of the holocam. 

“Hey, Grogu,” Luke’s smile was so soft and warm. 

His face abruptly changed into a more nervous expression as Boba leaned over to the viewing range. 

“Skywalker, where am I going?” 

“Uh, yeah.” Luke sent the coordinates quickly, clearly not sure what to say. “When you get in atmosphere I’ll send out my signal if you need it, but there will be a clearing near an old building…” 

“We’ll find it,” Boba nodded, and leaned back out of range. 

“Din, I’ll see you when you get there, okay?”

“Okay,” Din nodded. Grogu gurgled and waved. 

That got Luke smiling again. “Bye, Grogu.” 

They cut the comm. Din could hear Boba laughing quietly, and turned to him, asking ‘what’ silently. 

“That’s more like the Skywalker I’m used to seeing. Last time I saw him he came into Jabba’s palace all confident, almost gave me whiplash.”

“You knew Luke before?” 

“Not well, but Jabba took enough of an interest in him that it seemed like I ran into him a lot. He’s a menace on a speeder.” 

Din thought back to the few times Luke had convinced him to let him drive whichever landspeeder they’d rented. “Yeah, I learned that the hard way.”

They were silent for a moment, Boba took a second to really look at the coordinates before jumping to hyperspace. 

“There should be something in storage to feed the kid,” Boba told him. “And make sure Shand didn’t find the big stash of spotchka.” 

“The big stash?”

“You’ll know it if she’s found it.” 

….

_ Luke was sweet in a way that made Din feel like he’d tricked the kid into something, but also made him want to lean into it. He clearly wanted to leave Tatooine: he looked up at the stars so wistfully it was almost painful and drank in every single detail Din had about the other planets that he’d been to. But he stayed. He stayed for his aunt and uncle, his parents in all but name, just close enough to poverty that Luke’s presence made all the difference. He held Din’s hand when he took him into town and blushed like it was just as much a display of affection to him as it was to Din. When Din said he had enough credits on him for them to bring something back to the homestead, Luke’s first thought was what Aunt Beru would want.  _

_ And when a few beings looked at Din’s armor a bit too long, not hiding that they were thinking about how much they could sell it for, Luke stood in front of him like he was the one who needed to protect Din. He introduced Din to his friends, most of who looked like they were going to swallow their tongues at the sight of a mandalorian. His best friend, a man named Biggs, was apparently home for a few cycles and gently pulled Luke aside. Din tried to pretend like he wasn’t listening, but he could hear them still. _

_ “Luke, are you okay?” _

_ “Of course! Anyway, Din’s the one you should be concerned about, he’s still recovering.” _

_ “I  _ am _ concerned about him, Luke, you married him not an hour after you met him! Are you… are you safe? There’s not a situation, is there?” _

_ “What- Biggs, no! Din is sweet, the whole marriage was my idea, and I like him!”  _

_ “Okay, okay.”  _

_ Din couldn’t fault Biggs for worrying, and the man proved to be friendly enough.  _

_ About a week after Din had woken up, Din asked Luke what he wanted, and all Luke said was: _

_ “Take me with you when I can leave the homestead.”  _

_ Once Din had to leave (he was the covert’s only beroya, he did have to leave) they talked as often as they could. Din sent little gifts that made him think of Luke, and Luke’s eyes shone with excitement as Din told him stories about what he’d been up to while after a bounty. Din didn’t think it was necessarily exciting, but Luke looked so happy when Din told him little details about the planets, the people, that Din felt compelled to remember everything he might have looked over ordinarily.  _

_ Din visited as often as he could, even though it didn’t feel like it was very often. Aunt Beru gave him a mug of tea with a durasteel straw so that he could sit at the table with everyone. Uncle Owen was gruff, quiet, but kind. Din didn’t mind sitting in silence with the man, and Uncle Owen never made him feel like he needed to talk if he didn’t feel like it. And Luke… it felt impossible, but Luke was  _ happy  _ to be married to him. Din cherished every second of it as they watched the suns rise from their spot near the family graves; when Luke took him out in his uncle’s speeder and laughed while he pulled off increasingly impossible maneuvers; when they both crammed themselves into Luke’s bed at night, their legs intertwined and foreheads pressed together. Din memorized the joyful look on Luke’s face when Luke kissed his cheek and made him blush. _

_ And he panicked when, one day, Luke called him with tears in his eyes.  _

_ “Don’t go back to the homestead, Din. Whatever you do, don’t go back.” Luke wasn’t just crying, he was haunted. “The Empire was looking for… I didn’t get back in time.” _

_ “Are you safe? Are you injured?” _

_ “Yes, I’m safe, I’m not injured. I’m not even on Tatooine anymore. Aunt… Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen were killed.” _

_ The anxiety that ripped through Din was like a blaster shot to the stomach. Luke assured Din that he was safe, he was with a friend of his father’s (and from the look on his face Din could tell he was just as confused by this as Din was) and he started talking about droids and princesses and rebellion and Din was still so anxious.  _

_ And then two cycles later his husband told him he’d blown up the Death Star.  _

_ There had been no keeping Din away after that. They’d found a place away from the rebellion’s bases that they could meet and Din wasn’t calm until Luke was in his arms, whole and safe. They’d taken a few cycles to themselves to just breathe and be with each other and Din tried his very best to be a stable rock for Luke’s whirlwind of emotions.  _

_ He wasn’t very good at talking about emotions but he could hold Luke while he cried: the loss of his aunt and uncle hitting him like a runaway bantha. He could hold Luke, and he could help Luke sing a funeral song.  _

_ By the time they had to leave each other, Luke’s heart was light enough that he could smile, kiss Din on the cheek and smile at the blush on Din’s face. And it made Din’s heart lighter to see it.  _

… 

Boba gave Din a few minutes warning before they dropped out of hyperspace. The planet Luke had directed them to was a backwater planet with more of a number than a name, but Din could see why Luke had decided to settle here as soon as they were close enough to see the planet’s surface. 

Green, it was breathtakingly green. As they got into the atmosphere Din could see a small mountain range, but it was mostly trees and hypnotic, swirling, rivers. Various readings on the control panel showed that the temperature was pretty temperate, at least right now. Not cold, but cool enough that Din knew he wouldn’t overheat in his flight suit. The lower they got, the more Din could see settlements, but they were relatively unobtrusive, almost blending in with their surroundings, with small patches of farmland here and there. Yes, Din could easily see why Luke had chosen this planet.

They hadn’t asked Luke to broadcast his signal, but after a few minutes of flying in the atmosphere, the Slave-1 picked up the signal for Luke’s x-wing. A few minutes later and they found it. Just like Luke had told them, there was a dirt clearing, with Luke’s x-wing off to the side to give the Slave-1 plenty of room to land, just in front of a stone building. The building was clearly old, but it wasn’t in ruins, just a little run-down. There was a small settlement nearby, even smaller than the others they’d seen. The farmland was new, as were the buildings which were brightly painted. Din wondered if this had been there before Luke settled or just after. 

By the time the Slave-1 touched down and Din, Boba, and Fennec were heading down the boarding ramp, there was a small horde of younglings running towards them. Luke was just behind them, and Din wanted to remember the smile on his husband’s face for the rest of his life. The children were all fairly young, with the oldest maybe ten or twelve if Din had to guess, and all different species. Grogu visibly perked up, excited at the idea of playmates. As the group reached them, they began chattering immediately, asking Din if he was Luke’s husband and wow was that real beskar and could Grogu come play and… 

“Kids!” Luke got their attention, and they all stopped talking. “Let them breathe a minute, they just got here.” 

“But can Grogu come play?” 

“Yes,” Din nodded. Grogu was already squirming, wanting down. One of the children, a wookie, mimed putting Grogu on their shoulders, and smiled when Grogu nodded, reaching up to them. They were all off just as quickly, headed toward the village. 

Luke sighed, happy and indulging as he watched them go, before coming close to Din and pressing his forehead up against Din’s. After a moment he pulled away, addressing Boba and Fennec as well as Din. 

“Sorry, I tried to convince them to stay with their parents for a few more minutes but they were not having it.” 

“Their parents live here?” Fennec raised her eyebrow. 

“Yes, they live in the village over there,” Luke pointed. He seemed to already know the unspoken ‘I thought a jedi school…’ and explained. “Most of the parents were in the rebellion, or somehow connected. A couple of them I found along the way. There were a few families who couldn’t come with us and there are a few children who don’t have parents, and they live with me. But if the parents were willing to relocate I thought it was better for the children to be with them.” 

“It is,” Boba said, his voice even. 

He and Luke looked at each other for a moment, but didn’t say anything. 

“Would you stay with us a while? At least long enough to resupply and eat something.”

Din was almost as surprised as Fennec when Boba nodded yes.

. 

The village was full of love. That was the only way Din could describe it. The children played in the streets, weaving in and out of houses like they were trees. There were several generations of parents, too. A gaggle of older women, human and twi’lek and togruta mostly, sat on the front porch of one of the houses, some holding mugs of tea and one woman working on a wood carving. Two younger children were braiding flower crowns, and behind them another one was gently winding a garland around the fence posts of a garden. 

Luke introduced Boba to a human woman, Pippa, and her son Zee, who looked mostly human except that he had the horns and a bit of the coloring of a zabrak. Zee hid behind his mother as Luke explained that Pippa was the one to talk to about refueling. They were about to leave when Pippa noticed Din’s hand resting on the small of Luke’s back. 

“So  _ you _ must be the mysterious husband,” she said with a teasing gleam in her eye. “Nice to finally meet you. Luke talks about you constantly.” 

“Pip…” Luke groaned. 

Pippa winked at Luke but gave him a break and didn’t say anything more, just nodded to Din and said “it’ll be good to have you here.” 

The village felt like a large family, a lot like the covert had before they’d gone into hiding. Eventually the sun began to go down and they headed back to the old stone building that was both the school building and where Luke lived with some of the children. Said children followed them as they walked, though some of them ran up to Luke to tell him they were having dinner with one of the families in the village before they ran off again. Grogu let out a happy shriek when he saw Din again and Din melted just a bit when Grogu snuggled close once he was in Din’s arms. 

Grogu could grow up here, and that felt right. 

Luke had fixed up some of the old building, enough for a few children’s sleeping rooms, Luke’s own room, and a kitchen with a long table. Cooking and eating dinner was the most domestic thing Din had done in a very long time, and judging by the look on Fennec’s face, he wasn’t the only one. The children begged Din, Boba, and Fennec for stories, and Din settled into the feeling of being surrounded by a gentle warmth, the chatter of children, and the smell of spices as Luke cooked. 

Din didn’t know how Luke did it, but he’d managed to angle himself just so that Din could lift his buy’ce enough to eat. Most of the children living with Luke were old enough to be independent but there were two who were still very young. One had nearly wrapped himself around Luke, and the other was tucked under the arm of one of the older kids, who was helping her eat. Luke just adjusted his movement to not jostle the child wrapped around him, occasionally putting a steadying hand on the kid, presumably when he felt a spike of anxiety. 

Din felt his heart settle happily later that night when he finally took his buy’ce off and kissed his husband, Luke relaxing in his arms. 

“I missed you so much,” Luke murmured. 

“I missed you too.” 

They both fell asleep faster than they’d been able to in a very long time, with their legs intertwined like they used to do. 

…

_ They were able to catch a few days here and there to spend with each other in person, but a lot of communicating was holocalls. Luke was busy doing work for the rebellion and Din likewise with providing for the covert. It wasn’t easy being apart, but it was necessary, and the time they could spend together they practically orbited around each other. And Luke had his spark again. Sometimes something would remind him of his aunt and uncle, but for the most part Luke was as joyful as he’d always been, holding Din’s hand as they walked through a crowded market, getting Din to try so many different foods because they were both so tired of living off rations, and once even getting Din to take him out dancing. Din knew his buy’ce covered his blush but Luke just smiled like he could tell it was there anyway.  _

_ And then Din got a call from Leia. He knew of Leia, had briefly talked to her, but he knew as soon as he picked up that something was wrong.  _

_ “Djarin, I’m sending you coordinates. Luke needs you, he… it’s not good.”  _

_ Din had never arrived somewhere so fast in his life. Luke was in a private room near the medbay and Din didn’t have to be able to sense emotions to feel the turmoil even before he saw his husband. Once he did, it took everything to not panic. Luke was sickly pale, shaking, and  _ missing a hand. _ And the expression on his face… he looked even worse than he had right after his aunt and uncle had been killed. Din had his buy’ce off almost before Leia got the door closed, leaving them alone together, and Luke latched onto Din like a child.  _

_ “He’s my father… HE’S my father!”  _

_ Luke was panicking and it took Din everything he had to be the stable one. To get Luke through the panic attack. It took a long time to get Luke to stop hyperventilating, longer still to stop crying. Eventually, though, Luke was calm enough to tell him what happened and Din could only hold him because he didn’t even know how to begin to respond.  _

_ Darth Vader, terror of the galaxy, was Luke’s father. And he’d cut off Luke’s hand. And he wanted Luke to rule the galaxy with him and he was a sith lord and…  _

_ Din didn’t know how Luke wasn’t screaming.  _

_ At least Din was able to stay with him for a good long while. He was there when Luke was put under anesthesia for the surgery to connect neural processors for a prosthetic, and he was there when Luke woke up from it. He was able to help Luke with physical therapy, calm him down when everything caught up with him yet again, and ease him out of the nightmares.  _

_ When Din had to leave it was more painful than ever, but at least by that time the nightmares were less frequent and Luke could use his prosthetic hand almost as well as a flesh one.  _

_ They got back into their rhythm after the second Death Star was blown up. Din hated that he couldn’t settle down with Luke immediately; they were both still caught up in the whirlwind of bounty hunting and the beginnings of the New Republic. But Luke assured him that he’d wait as long as he needed to, that they had to make the future at least somewhat stable before they could have it.  _

_ But they would, they would have their lives together.  _

_ … _

Settling in with Luke was like a dream. Din still took jobs when he could, he was too restless to not, but nothing ever took him away from Luke and Grogu for long. But Luke’s new jedi school was home, and Din could bask in having somewhere to call home once again. He was finally able to come back to his husband, fall asleep holding hands, and felt safe. 

There was still the whole issue with the darksaber, but that… Din wasn’t about to bring it up if Bo-Katan didn’t say something first. For now Luke was happy to spar with him as Din learned to wield it, and they both knew that when something finally did bubble up they’d handle it together. 

__


End file.
